No limit to creativity in the kitchen

You could be forgiven for thinking there’s a limit to what you can cook with just four ingredients, but Kim McCosker says the evolution of food trends and equipment continues to inspire new recipes.

The queen of turning simple into spectacular is returning to Moreton Bay Food + Wine Festival from August 22-24, with a unique take on entertaining.

Kim is the author of the 4 Ingredients series of cookbooks, publishing 41 since the first one became a bestseller in 2007.

Eighteen years on, Kim continues to devise recipes, using feedback and suggestions from readers, to help home cooks create quick, easy, delicious and nutritious meals that cater to evolving dietary requirements.

“When we started and we wrote our very first gluten-free book, super foods didn’t exist … there were no chia seeds, there was no quinoa, there was no kale. Superfoods as a food category didn’t exist,” Kim explains.

“Flour – there was self-raising, plain and corn. Now, you’ve got potato flour, banana flour, coconut flour, rice flour and each of these flours has different properties and different outcomes.

“As ingredients grow and expand, so too do the recipes you can make from them.”

The evolution of equipment available to home cooks, such as the Thermomix, air fryer and pie maker, has also generated demand for quick and easy recipes.

Kim is looking forward to returning to Moreton Bay Food + Wine Festival in 2025, saying the organisers “lift the bar” each year

“This event is one of the premier food and wine events in Queensland and I honestly believe also in Australia. It is on another level,” she says.

The hostess with the mostest is planning to literally mix things up during this year’s festival, with cocktail-making shenanigans and a High Tea event focusing on entertaining.

“I’m very passionate about home entertaining and I know for a fact that there are certain things that cause major stress – moving home, public speaking and entertaining,” Kim says.

“I’m very passionate about simplifying entertaining because everyone celebrates something and it’s getting more and more expensive to celebrate out (at restaurants).

“I also know how highly valued something homemade is. When you entertain, it brings people together and together it such a beautiful place to be.”

Kim will share sweet and savoury recipes home cooks can prepare with ease but will also reveal how to present food beautifully.

“Food is first eaten with the eye. There’s lots of little things you can do to take something really quite simple and turn it into something a little bit spectacular,” she says.

“That is what I am the queen of … the simple to spectacular.

“It’s going to be such a lovely event. You’re going to find it informative, you’re going to find it educational, you’re going to have a laugh because that’s how I rock’n’roll anyway.”

High Tea with Kim McCosker

Kim will host High Tea on Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 11am-12.30pm.

It’s the perfect excuse to dress up, sip on bottomless prosecco and celebrate.

Enjoy a selection of delicately crafted treats, paired with sparkling conversation in an elegant atmosphere. There will be tiered stands of fresh scones, classic sandwiches and indulgent petit fours.

Tickets are $89 per person.

To find out more, visit the website